Homeless find help to start rebuilding their lives

Harley Watts, 18, (left) tries on a pair of boots as Nick Duda, 24, (back) and their dog Roxxi look for new clothes at the Project Homeless Connect East County 2014 where Crisis House and 30 other organizations came together Wednesday to help homeless with haircuts, personal belonging storage, pet sitting and other needs.
Misael Virgen

Harley Watts, 18, (left) tries on a pair of boots as Nick Duda, 24, (back) and their dog Roxxi look for new clothes at the Project Homeless Connect East County 2014 where Crisis House and 30 other organizations came together Wednesday to help homeless with haircuts, personal belonging storage, pet sitting and other needs.

The 48-year-old Lakeside resident and his wife, Farrah, 38, have been without permanent shelter for more than three years, kicked out of their apartment after he lost his construction job and could no longer pay rent.

“I call it ‘houseless,’ because I’m still looking for work,” said Grant, who was in El Cajon Wednesday morning for Project Homeless Connect East County 2014.

“I have about 80 applications out there,” said Grant, a 1984 Hilltop High graduate who grew up in Chula Vista and has two children and two grandchildren. “I’m a jack-of-all-trades. Being ‘homeless’ is not the way I want to feel forever. You got to keep your hopes up. I made a promise to my wife’s mom, before she passed away, that I was going to take care of her daughter. And I will.”

The event, held from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., brought more than 100 people, most of whom are living on the streets in East County, to the Ronald Reagan Community Center where three dozen groups had booths to provide information and services to those with limited access to such.

After dropping their 10-year-old pit bull, Nikki, off with petsitters from the San Diego Humane Society’s Project KEPPT (Keeping Every Person and Pet Together) the Grants walked around the center. There, groups such as the San Diego Food Bank, the East County Transitional Living Center, Mental Health Systems Inc., Volunteers of America and the East County Career Center handed out pamphlets, asked questions, and doled out equal amounts of snacks and advice.

People of every age and ethnicity, some in wheelchairs or pushing walkers, some who have been on the street for more than 20 years, some who are newly homeless, shared stories with volunteers who interviewed them when they arrived at the center.

The questions ranged from: Did they have past military experience? Had they been diagnosed with a mental health issue? Were they seeking treatment for alcohol or drug abuse? Did they have legal needs? What were their sources of income?

Free haircuts, massage and Reiki were available. The Wil-Mat Project gave away 50 sturdy mats made of weaved or crocheted plastic grocery bags. A storage area was opened outside the building for personal belongings to be kept. Hundreds of lightly worn jackets, shirts, pants, undergarments, socks and shoes were put on display outside the center. Staffed by Skyline Church members, the area had a never-ending stream of happy faces filling bags with clothing.

Spring Valley native Harley Watts, 18, and her boyfriend, 24-year-old Nicholas Duda of El Cajon, picked through piles of clothes and looked for a comfortable pillow for their 1½-year-old service dog, Roxxi.

“The worst thing about being homeless is having nothing to occupy our time,” Watts said. “Also not being able to shower every day. And it’s OK at night right now when it’s warm, but sleeping outside in the wintertime? That sucks. We’re both looking for work. He just applied to Walmart and almost got hired. I’m looking for a job in the culinary arts field. But it’s hard to find work.”

Watts said their immediate goal was to get off the streets and get jobs, and then she said they both had plans to learn how to drive.

Two of the biggest draws were the Social Security Administration area and the Department of Motor Vehicles booth, where people filled out a lengthy form and had their photograph taken to get a highly sought California ID card.

“It’s the key to getting anything done,” said Mary Case, Executive Director of Crisis House, the lead organizer of the event.

Case, who was vice president of programs for Father Joe’s Village for 30 years, said the event is a nationwide initiative whose goal is to make it easy for homeless individuals and families to access necessary services for rebuilding their lives and remaining safe, healthy and self-sufficient.

Case said she was heartened to see former El Cajon mayor Joan Shoemaker, who came by and gave the event her blessing and support. El Cajon City Councilman Tony Ambrose also stopped by.